SOUTHERN LIGHTS: Democrats and Republicans over the years

Published: Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 8:16 p.m.

My late father-in-law, John Rains, asked me if The Tuscaloosa News was a Republican or a Democratic newspaper.

I didn’t know how to answer him. I was editorial editor and a firm Democrat, but my preferences weren’t always those of the newspaper. We had an editorial board with diverse opinions, freewheeling meetings and lots of discussions. We endorsed candidates and ideas associated with both of the main parties (and some that the main parties both shunned).

I knew where my father-in-law was coming from, however. He lived in Mobile but spent most of his life in Nashville, where the Tennessean, which at one time employed a young Al Gore (and his wife, Tipper), was considered a Democratic newspaper and the afternoon Banner was Republican.

In fact, the Banner’s original name was The Nashville Republican Banner. (The Banner ceased publication in 1998.)

To this day, I don’t know how I would answer my father-in-law’s question. The Tuscaloosa News has an editorial page but no editorial editor. It publishes a fair share of conservative — OK, Republican-leaning — columnists but also some written by people with Democratic sympathies. It no longer endorses candidates. Its locally written editorials are pretty much nonpartisan.

I don’t agree with some of the changes — I always thought that a newspaper’s editorial pages were its heart — but then, I’m old school. And I have been retired for a few years.

It’s hard to pin partisan labels on things anyway. I had a high school teacher who held that the Republicans became the Democrats and the Democrats became the Republicans.

It’s really not that simple, but it is true in at least one respect. Republican President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863, but blacks later gravitated toward the Democrats. By the late 1960s, Republicans were well on their way to becoming “the white man’s party.”

The truth is stranger still. George Washington decried partisan politics, but the Federalist party emerged early in this country’s history. It was opposed just as quickly by a second party, led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and called the Democrat-Republicans (what a name!).

The Democrats grew originally from that party and ... well, look it up if you’re interested.

Many Democrats still revere Jefferson. I did, too, for a long time, but I’ll never feel the same about him after reading Gore Vidal’s novel “Burr.”

Vidal’s book shows, with a great deal of historical accuracy, that Jefferson was brilliant but also that he was a consummate hypocrite.

A recent issue of Smithsonian magazine bears “Burr” out. A cover story by Henry Wiencek, an American historian, editor and journalist, says Jefferson, author of the ringing endorsements of freedom in the Declaration of Independence, not only owned slaves but also knew they were being lashed to keep them in line.

To go from Jefferson to Barack Obama, from slave owner to leader of the free world, is to take an immense journey, yet we have now elected Obama to a second term.

The day after the election, I was listening to a radio program that interviewed Republican strategist Ed Rollins. He was asked what message the 2012 voters sent.

We re-elected Obama and increased the power of Democrats in the U.S. Senate. At the same time, however, we kept the U.S. House firmly in Republican hands and the GOP scored success after success at the state level.

Rollins couldn’t answer the question. He needed time to digest the election results, he said.

I don’t think I can help him, but I had a political dream a few days after the vote. I rarely dream of politics, but for what it’s worth:

In my dream, we were in a giant football stadium and pregame ceremonies had begun. The announcer asked all Democrats to rise and sing the national anthem “Democratic style.” Half of the stadium rose and sang the old song with a kind of new, rocking beat.

Then, in my dream, the announcer asked all Republicans to stand up and sing the second verse “Republican style.” The other half of the stadium got to its feet and gave the anthem the glee club treatment.

Both halves sounded terrible. Just terrible.

Ben Windham is retired editorial editor of The Tuscaloosa News. His email address is Swind15443@aol.com.

<p>My late father-in-law, John Rains, asked me if The Tuscaloosa News was a Republican or a Democratic newspaper.</p><p>I didn't know how to answer him. I was editorial editor and a firm Democrat, but my preferences weren't always those of the newspaper. We had an editorial board with diverse opinions, freewheeling meetings and lots of discussions. We endorsed candidates and ideas associated with both of the main parties (and some that the main parties both shunned).</p><p>I knew where my father-in-law was coming from, however. He lived in Mobile but spent most of his life in Nashville, where the Tennessean, which at one time employed a young Al Gore (and his wife, Tipper), was considered a Democratic newspaper and the afternoon Banner was Republican.</p><p>In fact, the Banner's original name was The Nashville Republican Banner. (The Banner ceased publication in 1998.)</p><p>To this day, I don't know how I would answer my father-in-law's question. The Tuscaloosa News has an editorial page but no editorial editor. It publishes a fair share of conservative — OK, Republican-leaning — columnists but also some written by people with Democratic sympathies. It no longer endorses candidates. Its locally written editorials are pretty much nonpartisan.</p><p>I don't agree with some of the changes — I always thought that a newspaper's editorial pages were its heart — but then, I'm old school. And I have been retired for a few years. </p><p>It's hard to pin partisan labels on things anyway. I had a high school teacher who held that the Republicans became the Democrats and the Democrats became the Republicans.</p><p>It's really not that simple, but it is true in at least one respect. Republican President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863, but blacks later gravitated toward the Democrats. By the late 1960s, Republicans were well on their way to becoming “the white man's party.”</p><p>The truth is stranger still. George Washington decried partisan politics, but the Federalist party emerged early in this country's history. It was opposed just as quickly by a second party, led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and called the Democrat-Republicans (what a name!).</p><p>The Democrats grew originally from that party and ... well, look it up if you're interested.</p><p>Many Democrats still revere Jefferson. I did, too, for a long time, but I'll never feel the same about him after reading Gore Vidal's novel “Burr.” </p><p>Vidal's book shows, with a great deal of historical accuracy, that Jefferson was brilliant but also that he was a consummate hypocrite.</p><p>A recent issue of Smithsonian magazine bears “Burr” out. A cover story by Henry Wiencek, an American historian, editor and journalist, says Jefferson, author of the ringing endorsements of freedom in the Declaration of Independence, not only owned slaves but also knew they were being lashed to keep them in line.</p><p>To go from Jefferson to Barack Obama, from slave owner to leader of the free world, is to take an immense journey, yet we have now elected Obama to a second term.</p><p>The day after the election, I was listening to a radio program that interviewed Republican strategist Ed Rollins. He was asked what message the 2012 voters sent.</p><p>We re-elected Obama and increased the power of Democrats in the U.S. Senate. At the same time, however, we kept the U.S. House firmly in Republican hands and the GOP scored success after success at the state level. </p><p>Rollins couldn't answer the question. He needed time to digest the election results, he said.</p><p>I don't think I can help him, but I had a political dream a few days after the vote. I rarely dream of politics, but for what it's worth:</p><p>In my dream, we were in a giant football stadium and pregame ceremonies had begun. The announcer asked all Democrats to rise and sing the national anthem “Democratic style.” Half of the stadium rose and sang the old song with a kind of new, rocking beat.</p><p>Then, in my dream, the announcer asked all Republicans to stand up and sing the second verse “Republican style.” The other half of the stadium got to its feet and gave the anthem the glee club treatment.</p><p>Both halves sounded terrible. Just terrible.</p><p>Ben Windham is retired editorial editor of The Tuscaloosa News. His email address is Swind15443@aol.com.</p>